Syracuse QB Kyle McCord selected 181st overall by Eagles in 2025 NFL Draft
Kyle McCord set the ACC single-season passing record in his lone season at Syracuse, paving the way for his NFL Draft selection in 2025. Aaron Hammer | Staff Photographer
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Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. McCord is the Orange’s first quarterback selected since Ryan Nassib was a fourth-round pick in 2013.
With full support and trust behind him, McCord rewrote Syracuse’s single-season passing records en route to setting Atlantic Coast Conference records for passing yards (4,779) and completions (391), surpassing Deshaun Watson’s 2016 numbers in two fewer games. Before the season, McCord said he felt he was the Orange’s missing piece. Five months later, SU capped its campaign by winning 10 games for the first time since 2018 by defeating Washington State in the Holiday Bowl.
After spending his first three collegiate seasons at Ohio State and becoming the starter in 2023, McCord transferred to Syracuse on Dec. 17, 2023. Though he led the Buckeyes to 11 straight wins, two interceptions in a loss to archrival Michigan on Nov. 25, 2023, ended his career with the program. The signal caller entered the transfer portal at its midnight opening on Dec. 4, 2023. That night, Brown and quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile flew to Columbus, Ohio, to visit McCord.
Brown has known McCord since he was in middle school, stemming from his wife, Teara, knowing McCord’s father, Derek, from working together at GE Healthcare. McCord has also known offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon since he was in elementary school by growing up in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. Meanwhile, McCord met Campanile as a middle schooler through a family friend.
Though McCord tried acquiring a fifth-year waiver for the 2025 season, he declared for the draft on Jan. 10. While McCord’s tenure with SU only lasted one season, his teammates used superlatives like Hall of Famer, best quarterback in the draft and the next Tom Brady to describe him. Now, he joins the Eagles and a quarterback room headlined by Jalen Hurts.
